Charlie Lawson

Charlie’s character Jim McDonald was known for playing some of Coronation Street’s most explosive storylines, but he’s since opted for a quieter life running his own farm shop with his partner.

Lawson quit Corrie in 2000 after 11 years playing bad-tempered dad-of-two Jim, known for his stormy on/off relationship with long-suffering wife Liz, played by Beverley Callard.

Charlie Lawson , who played Jim McDonald in Coronation Street, hanging Game Birds on his stall at Wilmslow Market, 2014 (Image: Matt Ratcliffe)

Speaking in 2010 when he opened the shop, Lawson said: “I’ve been a professional actor for 31 years now and I’m kind of lucky that I’ve always been busy. I don’t want to look in the mirror at the age of 70 and think I’ve never had a crack at doing something different with my career.”

His new business - Prestbury’s Farm Shop in Manchester - bills itself as a purveyor of fine meat, game, pork, fish and vegetables, sourced from local farms.

Tiffany

Singer, songwriter and teen idol Tiffany (Image: Getty Images)

The 80s icon is known worldwide for pop hit I Think We’re Alone Now. She now runs a vintage shop called Tiffany’s Boutique near Nashville, Tennessee.

Full name Tiffany Darwish, she rose to fame with a string of hits in the late 80s, but her career began to wane following her second album. After a nude Playboy shoot in 2002, she turned her back on fame to enter the world of retail.

Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal

The action hero starred in a string of blockbusters such as Above The Law and Under Seige. Possibly inspired by the films, Seagal was sworn in as a deputy sheriff in rural Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico in 2013. He previously spent years in law enforcement training before developing a special interest in border issues.

Neil Webb

Neil Webb playing for Manchester United (Image: Daily Mirror)

He once earned £5,000 a week as a hotly touted England footballer who played for Manchester United. But in 2007 it was revealed that Webb had traded his kit in for a postman’s uniform earning £220 a week.

Former England footballer Neil Webb who went on to work as a postie

Webb said of his new career: “You never get used to the 4.15 alarm but it’s good exercise and I’m home by lunch. What else do people expect me to do?”

Adele Silva

Adele Silva as Kelly Windsor in Emmerdale (Image: Helen Turton/ITV)

She was an Emmerdale favourite in her role as Kelly Windsor in the West Yorkshire soap. Adele made a brave attempt to make it in Hollywood in 2010, but her dreams failed to materialise across the pond. The actress was forced to take up a slightly less glamourous job as a shop assistant at a Ted Baker store in LA.

She also launched her own dog walking service called ‘Walkies of Fame’.

She said at the time her shop job was revealed: “I’m a jobbing actress and in this climate you can either sell your soul or do an honest day’s work.

Mark Feehily

Once gracing teenager’ bedroom walls on posters, the Westlife singer now works for a food truck company selling crepes and drinks to festival-goers.

He said: “People were flabbergasted. They have this thing, ‘Oh he was in Westlife and now he’s making tea.’ I love festivals, so why not?”

Danniella Westbrook

Sam (Danniella Westbrook) in Eastenders (Image: BBC)

Danniella has been in quite a few headlines since her days pulling pints in the Old Vic.

The Eastenders star who played Peggy Mitchell’s daughter Sam started working in a real pub in Tottenham after struggling to find acting work, and was even seen vac’ing down at White Hart Lane nearby.

The former actress has been in the news after it came out she had battled a cocaine addiction which ate away the flesh between her nostrils. She has previously been in the jungle for I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and last year she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, where she came fifth.

Lee McDonald

Lee McDonald in Grange Hill in 1986 (Image: BBC)

Remember Zammo Maguire from CBBC school drama Grange Hill? He’s now a locksmith in Surrey.

Lee’s dreams of reinventing himself as a professional boxer were ended when he was involved in a car accident aged just 21.

He said: “After the celebrity, and the excitement of boxing, here I was at 21 working in a wholesaler’s. My early 20s were really dark because of that. It took time to sort myself out. I started learning the locksmith trade then took my own shop.

“I do bits and pieces of acting but the shop is my main port of call.”